Which of the following is a normative economic statement? the poverty rate hit a new high last year and income distribution also worsened. health care accounts for roughly a third of total spending in the economy. the government needs to revamp the social security program to make it sustainable. retail sales are expected to continue on their downward trend in the next three quarters.

Oceanside marine company manufactures special metallic materials and decorative fittings for luxury yachts that require highly skilled labor. oceanside uses standard costs to prepare its flexible budget. for the first quarter of the year, direct materials and direct labor standards for one of their popular products were as follows: direct materials: 2 pound per unit; $ 11 per pound direct labor: 2 hours per unit; $ 19 per hour oceanside produced 2 comma 000 units during the quarter. at the end of the quarter, an examination of the direct materials records showed that the company used 7 comma 500 pounds of direct materials and actual total materials costs were $ 98 comma 100. what is the direct materials cost variance? (round any intermediate calculations to the nearest cent, and your final answer to the nearest dollar.)

Suppose that xtel currently is selling at $40 per share. you buy 500 shares using $15,000 of your own money, borrowing the remainder of the purchase price from your broker. the rate on the margin loan is 8%. a. what is the percentage increase in the net worth of your brokerage account if the price of xtel immediately changes to (a) $44; (b) $40; (c) $36? (leave no cells blank - be certain to enter "0" wherever required. negative values should be indicated by a minus sign. round your answers to 2 decimal places.) b. if the maintenance margin is 25%, how low can xtel’s price fall before you get a margin call? (round your answer to 2 decimal places.) c. how would your answer to requirement 2 would change if you had financed the initial purchase with only $10,000 of your own money? (round your answer to 2 decimal places.) d. what is the rate of return on your margined position (assuming again that you invest $15,000 of your own money) if xtel is selling after one year at (a) $44; (b) $40; (c) $36? (negative values should be indicated by a minus sign. round your answers to 2 decimal places.) e. continue to assume that a year has passed. how low can xtel’s price fall before you get a margin call? (round your answer to 2 decimal places.)

Computing equivalent units is especially important for: (a) goods that take a relatively short time to produce, such as plastic bottles. (b) goods with sustainability implications in their production processes. (c) goods that are started and completed during the same period. (d) goods that take a long time to produce, such as airplanes.